


The Map That Leads to You

by tonnyerenthing



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2019-01-01 04:24:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12148554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tonnyerenthing/pseuds/tonnyerenthing
Summary: Things aren't the same. I don't think they can ever go back to how they were. This time, though, I'm going to hold on tight and never let go. This time, I'll say everything, I'll tell the truth, I won't make the same mistakes. I won't let go of him again.





	The Map That Leads to You

I’m skipping club activities today. And, also, unit activities. After some arguing with Nazunyan he gave in and said, ‘if that’s your prerogative’ and agreed. I’ve been thinking about _that_ again and have to go back.

I step inside the classroom and it’s exactly how we left it. The desks and chairs are pushed into the corners of the room with a thin layer of dust coating everything. Burning a hole in my blazer pocket is the cassette tape he gave me that day. As much as I don’t particularly want to, I remember all of it perfectly. That weird intonation he had saying my name, the nonsensical way he spoke, all that we said. It’s all vivid as though it happened just yesterday.

I ignore how dirty my uniform is going to get and sit in the spot that he was lying down on that day. I pull my knees up, rest my head on them, take the tape out of my pocket, and stare at it. _A new song. The title’s… hmm… A little Sena Izumi!_ I never did throw it away. Even when he ran away and I was bitter and upset with him. Every time I would stand there in front of the trash can, I couldn’t let it fall. I’d simply stare at it like I am now and wonder if he was thinking about me.

I still idly sit in class, not paying attention, staring out the window and wonder. Is he thinking about me right now? I’d never admit it to anyone, but… I hope he is. Sure, I was close enough to my kouhai as a model, but it wasn’t the same… no, it _couldn’t_ be the same as that closeness there was between the two of us. Being back here I can’t help but sigh and wish things could be the same as they were then. Can we really go back to that?

Can we really go back to being in my backyard late at night, sitting close, and watching the sky without saying a word? I hope so. I want to. I desperately wanted to do that every day he was gone. So much so that I’d stare out my bedroom window down at that spot, _our_ spot, and wish I could see him there waving at me and smiling like he used to.

Familiar arms wrap around my shoulders. “I had a feeling you’d be here, Sena.”

“So, you’ve found me. Good job.”

“You’re cold as ever. Hey, sit in my lap like you used to.”

I straighten out my legs, scoot back, and let him wrap his arms around my waist. Of the few things I don’t mind doing, this is one of them. I lean back into his chest and stare down at the tape in my hands. I’d be lying if I said it isn’t comforting to be sitting close like this again. Especially with all the unpleasant thoughts that have been rolling around in my head lately. I close my eyes and try to relax. It’s almost like things are alright again.

“You’ve been thinking about everything that happened, haven’t you?”

I don’t open my eyes to look up at him. “If I weren’t, would I be here?”

“Say, Sena, you never did keep your promise to teach me how to waltz.”

“Huh?” As usual, he changes the subject with ease.

“Last time we were here, you said to me that you’d teach me to waltz, remember?”

“I don’t want to right now.”

“Right now is the perfect time! It’s just you and me, and you even have the song I wrote for you.”

I give in. “Fine, I’ll teach you. But, I want to sit like this just a little bit longer.”

“Got it!~”

He wraps his arms around me just ever so slightly tighter. Sheesh, I missed this. I finally relax and then say, “All right. We may as well get started.”

I stand and dust off the back of my pants. He does the same and I hand over my iPod telling him to pick a song. We share the pair of earphones and I instruct him to put one hand on my waist and hold my hand with the other. He picks it up quickly and I will admit that I’m not entirely disliking dancing with him like this. It’s actually quite nice. I bite my cheek to keep from smiling. Conversely, he’s grinning at me. It’s, actually, kind of handsome. His smile, that is. He leads our dance and I don’t mind.

More than anything else, it’s pleasant to be close like this. I let him lead me around the room and can’t help but smile. It’s been so long since it was just the two of us. More than a little too long for my liking. He pulls me closer, like he always has and likely always will, and I don’t protest.

“You’re really beautiful when you smile, Sena.”

“Mmhmm.” I don’t feel like ruining the mood with a catty remark.

He stops and leans forward until his mouth is only a few centimeters away from mine. I’m happy, for once, and don’t pull away. Besides, with his hand on the small of my back I can’t pull away very far anyways. I’ll grumble and complain about this later, but being honest with myself it’s nice.

“I want to see you smile more, Sena.”

I hum along to the song for a moment and reply, “If you want to see me smile so much, then make me happy. Like right now.”

The dance starts again and he says softly, “I’ll make you the happiest person in the whole world. I promise.”

“I’m going to hold you to that, you know.”

He slips his fingers in between mine and doesn’t say anything after that. The longer he leads me around the room, the better he becomes and I don’t want to stop. I’m content to be here so close like this. I had forgotten how warm his skin is in all the days he was gone. I would never say it out loud, but I like it. I ignore the clock on the wall and enjoy myself. If he doesn’t let go, I won’t either. If I had known that dancing with him would be so pleasant I would have given in when he originally asked.

There’s so much I want to say. I want to say that I missed him when he was gone. Say I missed him so much some days that it hurt. Say that as much as I say ‘you’re gross!’ and ‘stop that!’ I don’t really mean it. Say that I’ve never been this close with anyone before. He lets go of my hand, wraps both arms around my waist, picks me up, and spins me around. Ah, it feels good to be so close together. I give in first with a giggle, then a laugh. He slips his hands under my blazer and I don’t think much of it until I’m cackling while he tickles me.

“S… stop! L… Le… Leo-kun, st… stop it!” My words come out in between fits of laughter. I try to step back, but get pulled so close that there’s no space in between us. “Traitor! When I told you I was ticklish you said you wouldn’t tickle me!”

He sticks his tongue out at me. “I lied, sooorry!~”

“You… you are… you are the _worst_!”

I get a massive grin. “You call me the worst, but you looove me!”

“I do not!”

The tickling stops and he leans in until I can feel his breath warm on my cheek. My face starts to burn. If I move just a one centimeter closer… I swallow hard. It’s not like I _don’t_ want to, I mean, I’ve definitely _thought_ about kissing him before, but actually _doing_ it is a whole other thing.

“I’ve known you too long for you to be able to lie to me, Sena.”

I can see every detail in those bright, light green eyes of his and they have that same boyish charm that the rest of his appearance has. Should I do the most stupid thing imaginable and give in to the temptation of wanting to kiss him? He’s more than close enough for it to be easy. He closes the distance and kisses me. It’s gentle and sweet, and I like it. I like it a lot. I like it a lot and kiss him back.

I wouldn’t mind staying like this forever. Pressed up close, warm, and kissing. It’s enough to make me forget about the world. Being here together like this, just the two of us, it’s like I can pretend that nothing happened and things are just the same as they used to be. Like I can pretend that things are how they were during that blissful first-year we had. I don’t want to leave right now, right here, with him. I don’t want to leave, I want to stay. I desperately want things to be as happy as they were. I pull away and bite my lower lip. I really need to say it out loud.

I take a deep breath. “Please don’t runaway again without me.”

“I made the mistake of leaving you once before, I’m not going to do it again.” He kisses my cheek softly. “You’re stuck with me for good this time.”

I give him a small smile. “Stuck with you is exactly where I want to be.”


End file.
